Can what was be again?
by Yun Min
Summary: Ed and Al find a young girl out on the streets who looks a bit like Hawkeye. Disheveled and alone, will the Military ever track down the girls origins? And what do Roy and Riza know? Slight Royai.
1. In which someone is revealed

Can what was be again?

Chapter 1: In which someone is revealed.

Disclaimer: Hiromu Arakawa owns Full Metal Alchemist. I do not and I am writng this purely for mine and your enjoyment and do not get anything out of it.

* * *

Colonel Roy Mustang walked into his office, instantly noticing the lack of one certain blond haired alchemist who was supposed to be making an appearance. "So where's the Full Metal pip-squeak? He's supposed to be here," Roy said. 

"Not here yet," Second Lieutenant Havoc replied.

"We'll know when he does. Half the building will be in uproar," Second Lieutenant Breda added.

"And in the meantime sir, I suggest that you had better get to work. There's half a ton of paperwork on your desk and more here if you run out of work to do," Hawkeye was sitting behind her desk, glaring at Mustang, brandishing papers at him.

"Darn paperwork. If Full metals caused one scrap of damage, he'll be in trouble," Mustang grumbled before retiring to the inside office.

"So, how much paperwork do you reckon he'll actually get done?" Havoc asked. "Bets been taken now,".

"Not a lot," Fuery stuck in, even though he was preoccupied with trying to fix something that no doubt Mustang had broke.

"I'm not sure. Mustang looked like he actually might be doing some work," Breda added.

At this even Falman raised his eyebrows. "Never going to happen Breda," Havoc said.

"While we're on your subject of your little bet, I think that none of you are right. The Colonel won't be doing any of his paperwork," Hawkeye said. The guys all turned to stare at her. "Full Metal and his brother have arrived,".

"Where?" Fuery asked, putting down the now fixed contraption.

"Out there," Hawkeye said, pointing to the window. Everyone looked out and saw the Elric brothers arguing out in the rain. "On the other hand though, they look so caught up in their arguing that the Colonel might have done one piece of paperwork by the time they're up here,".

"When Full Metal starts to argue, there's no stopping him," Havoc said before taking out a cigarette and lighting it.

"What's this about Full Metal?" Mustang had miraculously appeared again, eager to get out of his paperwork.

"Sir, how much paperwork have you actually done?" Hawkeye asked, getting up and stacking a lot of finished papers on her desk.

"None," Mustang said, slightly scared of what could follow.

"Sir, then I suggest you get back to your desk and do your paperwork as Full metal isn't actually here yet," Hawkeye told him, pulling out her gun and aiming at her superior. "Or do you wish to be shot?"

"No, Lieutenant," Roy said timidly, creeping back to his office to try and do some work, or he would never get to have a good chat with Full Metal.

About half an hour later, after the office had finally settled down, Edward Elric decided to burst in, knocking completed piles of paperwork everywhere.

"Hey Colonel Bastard, where are you?" Ed yelled impatiently. "I don't have all day you know," Hawkeye and the rest of the staff looked up, knowing no work would be done now.

"He's in his office," Hawkeye said, standing up and trying to reconstruct those paperwork piles Ed had knocked over.

"Brother, don't go storming in there," Alphonse said, having heard Edwards yells. "You should apologize to the First Lieutenant as well,".

Hawkeye looked up at the young seven foot boy. "It's fine Al. Now why don't you come in?" Al was still standing outside the office door.

"Yeah Al, come in," Edward yelled at his brother.

Alphonse came clanking in as he usually did, but a little girl who didn't look more than ten came in behind him.

"What's going on here?" Roy Mustang said as he came out his office, having heard Edwards yelling. "Full Metal, I should have known you'd have something to do with it. You better have a reason for all this paperwork you've bombarded me with," Mustang then turned to face Alphonse. "Alphonse, how are. What's that?" Mustang was pointing at the small girl.

"It's a girl sir," Hawkeye told her superior. "They're all around the place,".

The entire office by this point had turned to the girl. Her head was sunken as she looked towards the floor, her hair falling like a curtain across her face. A ragged shirt covered the top half of her body, and she wore a skirt which looked like it hadn't been washed in ages.

"What's she doing here though?" Mustang said, seeing no particular reason for this girl to be in his office.

"Alphonse and I found her on the streets. You know what Alphonse is like, so she just had to come with us. I had to meet you and having nothing else to do with her, we brought her here," Edward said.

"I'm sure we could get someone to take care of her," Alphonse added.

"First off, does she have a name?" Havoc asked, trying to get things moving.

"When we asked her, she said it was Eliza," Alphonse told Mustang and his subordinates. "She didn't tell us anything else though,".

"Eliza,"Roy said, trying out the name. At this, the girl looked up, her grubby blond hair swinging to one side to reveal these pitch black eyes.

Almost everyone crowded round the girl to have a closer look. Even Falman stopped leaning on the wall to get a closer look at Eliza. Edward, however, just watched the lot of them with a bored look on his face, saying what was all the fuss about. "She's just a kid!" He moaned.

When Hawkeye got closer to the girl, she drew back in shock, letting out a small gasp. Fuery heard it, as did Falman and they both looked up momentarily, but soon turned there attention back to Eliza. Roy also noticed and wondered why.

"Hawkeye, in my office, now," Roy ordered, having a hunch that his Lieutenant knew something about the girl.

Hawkeye gave Mustang a slightly strange look, but followed him none the less. Roy then slammed the door behind them, slightly irritated that Full metals Report would have to wait until later. "What was that about?" Breda asked.

"Who knows," Havoc said, lighting up yet another cigarette, while Ed noted that no one had ever worked out what went on between Mustang and Hawkeye.

"Look at her eyes," Fuery then said, looking at Eliza who now had a very scared expression on her face from all the people who had been crowding around her.

Havoc leaned in, being careful to take his cigarette from his mouth so he didn't do anything to the kid. "They're like Mustangs," he commented.

At this, the entire office, especially Falman, turned to stare at the girl. Even Ed got of his perch to have a closer look. Breda looked in amazement. "You're right,".

"What's so special?" Ed said. "Loads of people have dark eyes,". He was right, and there was nothing that significant about the fact that the girl had eyes that were similar to Mustangs, but the subordinated kept on arguing.

"But how many people have those coal black eyes. Look at them. They really are black, not just dark," Fuery argued.

"Brother, Fuery has a point," Alphonse stated. "But, don't you think her hair looks a bit like Hawkeye's?" At this, Breda, Havoc, Falman and Fuery stared at the girl even more, before admitting that Eliza did have hair that was similar to Hawkeye's. They would have to wait until Eliza had been cleaned up though to actually tell.

"Can you guys think of anyone who could help?" Ed asked impatiently. "I mean if we were in Central we could just ship her off to Hughes, though that's probably not the best idea in the world. He'd fuss over her and compare her to Elysia all the time,".

"I know what you mean. Hughes can just be the slightest bit over enthusiastic," Havoc said, before proceeding to chuck his cigarette in the bin.

"Who else is there though that's actually around?" Breda asked.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye would probably be willing to takle care of her, though she's currently closeted up with the Colonel, so we can't ask her. Eliza also ought to be taken care of immediately," Fuery said while looking at the small girl, who was slightly bewildered by all the talk.

"How about General Grumman?" Falman said, speaking of the General who ran East headquarters.

"There's no better option," Havoc said. "Even if he can't look after her, he can probably find someone who can. She'll probably end up back here by the end of the day though,".

The entire office nodded it's heads in agreement to this and decided to send Ed on his way to find the General and deliver the girl.

"Come on Brother," Alphonse said eagerly.

"To General Grumman it is then," Ed stated, grabbing Eliza's hand and following his younger brother. Eliza was yanked out of the office, blond hair flying away. A scared look was on her face as she had literally been pulled of her feet.

The remaining four who had been left in the office just sat or stood there watching the brothers and the younger girl run off. "Are we sure this is the best idea? Grumman might suspect something," Havoc said as he put his feet up on his desk.

"Or worse, he could be like Hughes and fuss all over the girl," Fuery said, imagining for a small moment what that would be like.

"Or even worse than that, Hughes'll actually be called in," Breda said. Havoc and Fuery both knew he spoke the truth, that would be bad indeed.

"Hey you lot, how much are you willing to bet that Eliza's actually related to Hawkeye or Mustang?" Havoc asked.

* * *

**A/N: This is my first stab at an Full Metal Alchemist fanfiction. Please review with any comments or improvements you may wish to say, or just to tell me you liked it. It would mean a lot to me if you reviewed.**


	2. Who is Eliza

Can what was be again?

Chapter 2: Who is Eliza?

Disclaimer: Hiromu Arakawa owns Full Metal Alchemist. I do not and I am writng this purely for mine and your enjoyment and do not get anything out of it.

Warning: Possible manga spoilers. Don't ask me what chapter. Oh, and while I'm at it, i might as well say that this fic is set primarily in the anime, though it has hints of the manga in.

* * *

Meanwhile, Roy Mustang had closeted Riza Hawkeye in the office, hoping to get some information out of her. She knew something, Mustang was fairly sure of that. 

"Sit down Hawkeye," Mustang told her as he took a seat himself. He attempted to clear some of the work off his desk, grumbling as he did so. "Darn Fullmetal, why'd he have to go and destroy an entire village?"

"Sir, do you need any help with that?" Hawkeye asked, playing the role of loyal subordinate, though she still hadn't sat down. She gave Mustang a look which turned her question into more of an order of "let me help".

Mustang didn't look up, so consequently he didn't catch Hawkeye's menacing glare. Instead, he dismissed Hawkeye's question with a wave of the hand, telling her once again to sit down.

So Riza did so and had to watch in submission as Roy made even more of a mess trying to clear his paperwork up, a mess that she knew she would have to clear up later. When Roy finally managed to get the rest of it off his desk, he sat down, dusting his hands in relief.

"What do you know about the girl, Hawkeye?" Roy asked, quickly getting to the point.

"Nothing," Riza swiftly answered. "She just reminds me of someone I once knew, that's all,". She didn't want to tell Mustang any more. How would she explain it anyway?

"Hawkeye, you're hiding something. Who was the person you knew anyway?" Mustang asked, curious about who it could be.

Hawkeye paused for a moment, not knowing quite what to say. "Sir, what if I am hiding something?" She chose to reply. "Why should I tell you who Eliza reminds me of anyway?" Mustang got even more suspicious at this.

"Hawkeye, in all the years I've known you, even way back, I've never seen you act like this before. What's wrong with thinking Eliza looks like someone you once knew?" Mustang was worried about his Lieutenants behavior, she never acted like this.

"There's nothing wrong I suppose. It's just..." Hawkeye paused, wondering how to say it and if Mustang would really understand. "The girl Eliza reminds me of, was my daughter,".

Mustang sat there in silence after Hawkeye's confession, trying to process the information. Hawkeye had a daughter? Since when? Who was she? And more importantly, what hd happened to Hawkeye's daughter?

"Sir?" Hawkeye asked, as Mustang had remained silent.

"I'm fine, Hawkeye. It's just that it was a bit of a shock," he said in reply. Hawkeye nodded, hoping he wouldn't question her any further.

Mustang thought back to the villag where Riza had grew up in. There was no one there who he could think of that could have fathered Riza's child, especially as Riza had never shown a particular interest in any of them. He would just have to ask her instead. "Who was the father?".

At this Hawkeye panicked, though she tried not to show it. How could she explain it to Mustang? She decided to try and worm round it, instead asking Mustang, "Sir, do you remember when we were kids. Back at my fathers house I mean,".

"Of course I do," Mustang answered, although he was slightly surprised at Hawkeye's change of topic. It just wasn't like the First Lieutenant.

"No, I mean do you really remember. Like all the little details. When my father refused to pick me up from school when I was ill and you had to come instead" Hawkeye's voice wavered slightly, as she knew she shouldn't really be speaking of the incident.

Roy paused. He did remember that incident, and many others with it. The incident that Riza spoke of, it was clear in his mind. The jeering voices of the girls, wondering why on earth a guy like Roy had come to pick little Riza up fro school. His smooth reply of why did it matter to them? The voice of the teacher, nervously asking if Roy would be all right taking Riza home. His reply of "yes".

"And what happened after?" Riza said, prompting Roy to remember more.

Roy nodded, still remembering. His teacher, Riza's father's refusal to see his daughter or arrange for any medical attention for her. Riza's despair at her father for not acknowledging her. Him, comforting her, holding her closely, lifting up her tear stained face and kissing it.

After that, more memories came flooding back. Riza's father dying, both Riza's tears and relief from that. The night they had half drunkenly spent together. That night. Realisation came to Roy. "That night. After your father died. That night we spent together. Your daughter... My daughter. That's why you tried to lead me away from my question isn't it Riza,".

"Yes sir," Hawkeye replied, unusually not objecting to the use of her first name.

"Riza, what happened to our daughter?" Roy asked, before doing a quick calculation in his head. That night he had spent with Riza would have been about 12 years ago, just after he had become a state alchemist. That meant his daughter would be about 11 by now. "She must be almost 11,".

"After the girl was born, I decided to give her up for adoption. This women, a Mrs Kempt, wanted her and I just gave my daughter to her, as I just didn't know what to do. I then joined the Military as a sniper, before being sent out to Ishbal. The rest you know," Riza said.

Roy did. She had saved him and then he had asked her to become his subordinate after the Ishbal war had ended. "Riza, what about Eliza?" Roy asked.

Riza looked at Roy. "This is the weird bit. It's not just that Eliza looks like the girl I remember as my daughter, but I named my daughter Eliza as well," Riza knew that it sounded weird, but that was the truth.

"So, you reckon Eliza is our daughter" Roy said. How they would explain it to everyone if she was, he didn't know. And then there would be Hughes wattering away in his ear about how he should marry Riza.

"I'm not sure, sir. If she is we're in trouble. If not, then we can just go on as if nothing ever happened between us. I think it would be best to employ that Eliza is not our daughter for now," Riza said, knowing that there would be severe consequences if it was true.

Roy nodded in return, Riza's plan was good. "So we just wait and see," he replied.

"Yes," was Riza's reply to that.

"So what do you think everyone else is doing with Eliza?" Roy questioned, wanting to know Riza's opinion.

"I have no idea, sir. Hopefully, they're probably trying to find someone to look after Eliza, but who at East can look after her I really don't know," Riza replied, truly wanting to know what the others had done with the young girl.

"At Central she'd just have been given to Hughes, no question about that. Though here you'll probably have to pass her up to General Grumman before anything actually gets done with Eliza," Roy said, knowing how his friend would have fawned over the child.

"We better get back out there and see what they've actually done with her," Riza said, before getting out of her seat and moving closer to the door. "After you, Colonel," she said as she opened the door.

"Thank you Hawkeye," Mustang replied as he walked through the door, followed by Hawkeye.

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**A/N So the second chapter has come. Thank you to my reviewers, it really makes my day when I see your reviews. Depending on what I have to do tomorrow (I have to attend this insanely boring playscheme) the next chapter could be up tomorrow or in several days. Please review, as it really does make me happy. **


	3. A single chess piece

Can what was be again?

Chapter 3: A single chess piece

Disclaimer: Hiromu Arakawa owns Full Metal Alchemist. I do not and I am writng this purely for mine and your enjoyment and do not get anything out of it.

The look on Eliza's face as she was pulled off by Ed was a look of fear, yet fun at the same time. Ed had not stopped his relentless tearing towards Grumman's office, anyone else would have just died of complete exhaustion.

Alphonse clanked after his brother, trying to get Ed to slow down before he killed Eliza. A lot of Military officers looked out their offices, before saying that it was just the Elric brothers and heading back to their work.

Ed slowed down when he reached General Grumman's office and Eliza finally stopped bobbing up and down. Alphonse caught up and pantingly said "Brother you have to stop doing that. You'll kill someone someday,".

Ed ignored his brothers comment, instead asking a question of his own instead. "Hey al, do you reckon we should knock or just barge straight in?"

"Knock. Brother, don't do anything stupid," Alphonse said, but by the time he had finished, Ed had already burst into Grumman's office anyway, dragging Eliza in with him.

"Brother!" Alphonse exclaimed, before realising that the best thing to do would be to follow Edward. He hurried in after Edward.

Grumman, who had been trying to get through some of his paperwork that had been dumped on him, looked up as soon as he saw the brothers come in. A half-finished chess game lay on the side of the desk, some of the pieces knocked over, a mug of coffee lying alongside the board.

"Edward, Alphonse, why are you here?" Grumman asked politely, hoping that Mustang didn't have anything to do with it. He knew Mustang moaned enough about the amount of paperwork Edward gave him, and yet had no idea that how much paperwork he dumped on the General.

Edward was the one to reply. "We found her," he pointed to Eliza as he pulled her away from the bookcase she had been looking at, "outside Headquarters. We took her to Mustang, but no one knew what to do with her. Falman and Havoc said I better bring her to you,".

Grumman's eyebrows were raised at this. "And where were Colonel Mustang and Riza when Warrant officer Falman and Second Lieutenant Havoc said this? And does the girl have a name?"

Edward had opened his mouth to answer, but Eliza spoke up instead. "It's Eliza Kempt, sir," her coal eyes meeting Grumman's for a split second, before focusing on the chess game Grumman had on his desk.

"Mustang and Hawkeye were talking at Mustangs office at the time," Edward said. His mind wandered slightly, wondering why Grumman had called Hawkeye by her first name. All right, Mustang did, as long as Hawkeye wasn't around, but General Grumman was a different case.

"Do they know of Eliza?" Grumman asked, his eyes following Eliza's to the chess game. He fiddled with one of the pieces, the black queen, as he waited for Edwards answer.

Ed noticed Grumman's fiddling, but didn't take it very seriously. "Yes,""was the simple answer he gave. "Look, can you just do something with Eliza? I'm not having her tagging around anymore," And with that, he stormed out.

"Ignore brother please. He just doesn't want her to be hurt. He cares really," Alphonse then followed Edward, hoping to make sure Ed didn't do anything stupid.

"Of course," was Grumman's reply, as he watched the younger Elric brother close the door. "Now, little Eliza, what are we to do with you?" he said as he turned back to the young girl. He noticed that she was looking closely at the chess set. "Do you play chess?"

"No," Eliza answered. "I just like looking at the pieces," Grumman sighed. Eliza didn't seem to be the best kid in the world.

"Colonel Ashton, can I have you in here please?" Grumman said as Eliza switched her attention away from the chess game and back onto the bookcase.

"Yes sir," Ashton gave a salute as he came hurrying into the room. He them gave a strange look at the kid. "Sir, what's a kid doing here?"

"She was brought in by the Elric brothers," Ashton nodded. "I need you to find somewhere for her to stay," Ashton looked a bit puzzled by this, but reached out for Eliza's hand none the less.

"Sir, wouldn't it be best to give her to Colonel Mustang? Then she could just be sent to the Lieutenant Colonel Hughes in Central," Ashton wondered at this.

"She's already been to Mustang once today," Grumman explained. Ashton saluted and went out, Eliza with him. "But," Grumman yelled after Ashton. "make sure she ends up back at Colonel Mustang's office by the end of the day,".

After this, Grumman returned his attention to his chess game. He took the piece which he had been fiddling with earlier, the black queen, and took it apart. In there was a note, severely torn and battered, but readable none the less. It contained a grand total of five words.

_I'm sorry. _

_The Flame Alchemist_

At the time, Grumman had puzzled over what it had meant. Now he thought he understood. "So that's what you meant Roy. You wanted to apologize for not taking proper care of my Granddaughter,". Grumman then folded the note away, placing it back in it's hiding place.

* * *

"How did she end up here again?" Mustang asked when he saw Eliza back in his office again, only a few hours after Edward said he had got rid of her. 

"I don't know; we sent her to Grumman but she's ended up back here," Havoc said in reply to his superiors question.

Fuery looked up from the telephone he was fixing. "Colonel Ashton brought her down here, along with the phone," he indicated the broken piece of equipment. "Apparently he thought we were much better suited to look after the child, and we should just send her to Hughes if we couldn't handle her,".

At this Eliza looked up, concerned. It was clear she didn't like the sound of being sent away. "Please, don't send me away,".

"Why?" Riza turned to look at the young girl, forgetting all her suspicions about her.

"I've been sent away before. I don't like it. Especially if the people I'm sent to lie to me," The others gave Eliza strange looks. Why would someone lie to a kid like Eliza? Which prompted the next question.

"How do you know they lied to you, Eliza?".

"Because I do. They lied to me about my parents. They pretended they were them,".

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**A/n: So here it is. The next chapter. I hope you all like it. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and put my story on their alert list. Please review as you really do make my day.**


	4. A Train Journey

Can what was be again?

Chapter 4: A Train Journey

Disclaimer: Hiromu Arakawa owns Full Metal Alchemist. I do not and I am writing this purely for mine and your enjoyment and do not get anything out of it. Ken Pierce (who is briefly mentioned in this chapter) belongs to causmicfire.

* * *

The office just stared at the younger girl, what she had just said still ringing heavily in their minds. The people Eliza had thought were her parents, they weren't. It was something that would have shocked anyone, but a kid like Eliza? How had she even found out? 

"Those people. They lied. And I believed them. For eleven years I believed them. They lied. And now I have no chance to meet my real parents," Eliza's words had a profound affect on everyone who heard them. To hear such heavy words come out of the mouth of an eleven year old was shocking.

"Eliza," Hawkeye kneeled down so she was level with the girl. "You're safe with us. You know that, don't you?" Eliza gave a small nod as a tear escaped from one of her eyes.

Roy smiled as he saw his First Lieutenant on the floor with the girl. Whether Riza was Eliza's mother or not, she was trying to give Eliza the support she needed. Riza had evn forsaken her suspicions just to make the girl feel better.

"Hughes is a good guy. He'll take much better care of you than we ever could," Roy knelt next to Riza, wiping a tear from Eliza's eye. He then looked up at Havoc, who wordlessly passed him a picture. "Look, there's Hughes. The one with the goofy grin on his face. He's got a daughter to, you know,".

Roy stood up and looked around. "Where's one of those photos of Elysia Hughes is always sending us?" he grumbled, before finding one sitting on the bookcase. He then returned back to Eliza's side. "Look. This is Elysia, Hughes's daughter,".

"Come on Eliza. Hughes is a great guy," Havoc said as he tried his hand in persuading the young girl.

"There was a picture," Eliza said suddenly as all eyes reverted to her. " A picture. When I was tiny, when I was still with my real mother. She handed me over to the woman I would call mother along with a picture. My mother told the woman to show me the picture when I was older,"

"She never did show me that picture. I never saw it. That last piece of my true mother. I never saw it," Eliza's eyes closed, trying to bring up more of the old memory. "Sometimes I have problems deciding who was worse, my mother or the woman I called mother. My real mother abandoned me, but the woman I called mother never told me anything,".

"Will you go to Hughes though?" Fuery asked.

"Yes," Eliza said, eyes open and set clearly on the door.

"Before you go Eliza," Hawkeye said, standing on her feet once more. "What was the woman's name?".

"Mrs Kempt," Eliza answered, unaware of what it meant.

* * *

"Riza," Roy said as he looked at his Lieutenant. "Eliza revealed quite a bit about herself back there. Do you have any idea about whether or not she truly is our daughter?" 

Riza quickly glanced at Eliza who was gently sleeping on her lap. She checked the girl was soundly asleep before answering Roy. "The photograph. I gave the woman a photograph to show Eliza. Just like she said," A tear came out of Riza's eye.

"So Eliza is our daughter," Roy said. It was such a simple statement, but saying it out loud just made the reality of it sink in. Riza ad Roy were parents. Their daughter was sitting sleeping on Riza's lap. If the two officers hadn't been wearing uniform, it would have almost looked like a normal family outing, even though it wasn't.

Riza looked across at Roy. "So we're just going to let her go to Hughes? Something just feels slightly wrong about that. She's our daughter, shouldn't we look after her?"

"Riza, I know what you mean. But we both know that neither of us have the time to look after the girl. Gracia already looks after Elysia, so having her look after Eliza as well shouldn't be a problem," Roy said.

Riza opened her lips to reply, mumbling something like they already dumped enough on Hughes, but Roy silenced her, placing his fingers gently on her lips. "I agree, we do dump to much on Hughes. But, if you remember, Colonel Ashton said if we couldn't handle her then we ought to send her to Hughes,".

Roy moved Eliza off of Riza's lap and placed her back on the seat. Eliza still slept on, despite the disturbance. "It's for the best, you know that," Roy said, placing one of his hands firmly on Riza's shoulder.

"I know," Riza replied.

"And if we don;t give her to Hughes, someone will find out. You know what Havoc and the rest are like. They'll want to know why as well," Roy said.

"You're right, Sir," Riza said. There was no knowing what the other subordinates would do with the knowledge that Riza and Roy were concealing. Probably call up Hughes and tell him.

"Lose the formality Riza," Roy said. "There's no need for it. We're just on a train and there's no one around," Roy then pulled out a chess set. "Do you want to play?" he asked.

"Yes," Riza answered and the two of them got the chess set out and started setting up. "This is General Grumman's chess set, isn't it?".

"Yes. He gave it to me as we were leaving," Roy said, putting one of his bishops on its square. "How did you know?" he looked across at the Lieutenant.

"I used to play with it a lot," Riza replied as she looked across the board, her white pieces ready to fight Roy's black ones.

"Of course," Roy said. He waited a few seconds for Riza to make her move. "White moves first, remember," Riza moved one of her white pawns out.

The game progressed, Riza slowly overpowering Roy and finally, it was checkmate. "Despite all the games you've played with my grandfather, you still haven't got any better at this. It took me about five minutes to beat you," Riza said, collecting her pieces. "Want to play again?".

"Not now," Roy answered.

Riza instead took a book out of her bag, Fleeing the Homelands by Ken Pierce. "I'll just read this then," she said, opening the book up and starting to read.

Within fifteen minutes Riza had fallen asleep. Roy looked at both mother and daughter, contentedly sleeping alongside each other. Riza's book flopped open on her lap, until Roy decided to move the book to the side.

Roy then opened the box which the chess game lay in. He picked the black queen up and opened it. Inside was a message. He read it.

_I'm Sorry_

_The Flame Alchemist._

He had written it several years before, before the Ishbal war started but after that night with Riza. There was more on the end that he had not written however.

_Don't be._

_General Grumman._

Roy wondered whether General Grumman had actually understood what he had meant by that Sorry. Though Grumman had understood the little things that no one, apart from Riza, had got. Maybe it ran in the Family?

He looked again at Riza, who was still fast asleep. How did she do it? Roy could never stand trains and couldn't understand how someone could fall asleep on one. And the fact that Riza would never fall asleep while on duty, yet here she was sleeping, amused Roy greatly.

She looked so peaceful there, something he rarely saw her as. When she was younger, she had always been scared and frightened and came to him for support and help, and now she was older she was so cold all the time. Roy almost drifted off to sleep himself, watching the steady rise and fall of Riza's breathing.

That did not happen however. There wasn't chance too. Someone decided to stick their head into the compartment, saying that it would be only a few minutes until they reached Central. No doubt the Military had told them to do it. The person walked away looking slightly shocked, they had been told that it was supposed to be two officers escorting a child, but it looked like a family gathering.

Roy, having shooed the person out, leaned over and gently shook Riza's shoulder in an attempt to wake her up. "Riza, we're almost at central," he said quietly. Riza's eyes slowly opened, still very sleepy.

"Sir, we need to wake Eliza up as well," Riza said, leaning over to the child. "Eliza, you have to wake up. We're almost there," Riza shook Eliza gently, just as Roy had done to her. Eliza slowly woke up, rubbing her eyes as she did so.

"O.K, bags, your book Lieutenant," Roy listed their belongings, while silently thinking what damage Hughes would be able to do if he was here with a camera. "Is that everything?" He asked, still thinking about Hughes picture obsession. He glanced around the compartment. Nothing else was lying around.

"I think so, Colonel," Riza said, picking up her book. She took Eliza's hand in hers as she waited for the train to finally come to a stop at Central.

The train pulled in and everyone, including Roy, Riza and Eliza, stepped of the train. "Colonel, were the Military supposed to send anyone to meet us?" Hawkeye asked, still gripping Eliza's hand tightly.

"Apparently Major Armstrong was supposed to come and meet us" Roy paused, surveying the crowd for any sign of the tall blond Alchemist. "But luckily, he doesn't seem to be here yet, or he's not coming,".

"Sir, those two are in Military uniform," Riza pointed out. Roy looked at the pair Riza mentioned. She was right, they were in Military uniform.

"So, shall we head over there Lieutenant?" Roy asked, and Riza nodded in reply. Roy took Eliza's empty hand and the three of them walked towards the two Military personnal. Upon seeing Colonel Mustang, both of them snapped to attention.

"Sir," They said as they both saluted.

"Wasn't Major Armstrong supposed to come and meet us?" Roy asked the two of them, still holding Eliza's hand though.

"Major Armstrong is currently in Resembol with the Elric brothers," The female said. "Instead, my partner, Sergeant Brosh, and I were sent to come and meet you instead," The way she said it, it was obvious that she had said it before several times for some reason or another.

"And you are..." Riza asked.

"Second Lieutenant Ross. My partner and I work under Major Armstrong," Lieutenant Ross replied.

"Did we really need an escort to go to my best friends house though?" Roy asked. "I already have one of the best bodyguards the Military can offer me, so why do I need an escort?"

"We were sent to come and meet you. We do not know anything about the reasons why," Ross answered.

"Look, can we just get the child to Hughes. I think she's tired after spending half the day sitting on a train," Riza said. Roy grumbled at this, receiving a glare from Hawkeye for it and a hiss. "Sir, there's no need for that,".

The party of five set off, walking as the Military hadn't bothered to provide a car. "So what did Fullmetal do this time? If I've got this right he hasn't been back to Resembol for four years," Roy said, wondering what his youngest subordinate had got up to.

"I think he broke his automail. Something came through from Armstrong about Edward refusing to have anyone else fix his automail after it was destroyed," Ross told the Colonel, though she was not quite sure on what had happened.

After about ten more minutes, the five of them reached Hughes's house. "Lieutenant Ross, Sergeant Brosh, Hawkeye and I can manage now," Roy said. The two of them saluted at him, and left. "So who's going to knock the door. You or I?" He asked.

"Seeing as Hughes is your friend, and neither of us want him shot, I think it wisest that you open the door sir," Riza replied, looking sternly at Roy.

"How about we just get Eliza to do it?" Roy said, looking at the young girl. "That way, neither of us will get smothered in the dozens of pictures we both know he's going to show us and Hughes doesn't get shot or burnt either,".

"Fine," Riza said. "Eliza, would you please knock the door while we stand a clear distance away,".

Eliza looked slightly confused at Riza's statement, but did what was asked of her anyway. And as soon as the door was knocked, it was opened by none other than the Lieutenant Colonel himself, who instantly exclaimed, "Hello. Who are you? You wouldn't like to see some pictures of my darling daughter would you?" Hughes pulled out the pictures of Elysia and started to shove them under Eliza's nose.

"I knew this would happen," Riza sighed.

"Hey Hughes, don't suffocate the poor kid," Roy said, bringing his friends attention to the fact that he and Riza were standing just a few metres away and that if anything did happen, Riza had a gun full of bullets and Roy had his gloves.

"Why hello Roy. And Lieutenant Hawkeye as well. Does this child have anything to do with you two?" Hughes asked, pointing at the Eliza.

"Basically, Ed and Al found her around East Headquarters. She was sent around the entire of Headquarters before she was deposited on us, and if I may quote on Colonel Ashton "Send her to Hughes if you can't manage her,". So that's what we're doing. Sending her to you," Roy said.

* * *

**A/N: The longest chapter I've written so far for anything. (excluding one-shots) It's over 2000 words long. I blame that little voice in my head that has to narrate all my fanfiction (and indeed everything that happens in my life). I just started and I couldn't stop. Thank you's go out to: My reviewers, winglessfairy25, Animesupergirl, Harryswoman and Angel who can't fly, everyone who has this story on their alerts list, causmicfire for letting me use Ken Pierce who is briefly mentioned, and a special thanks to Animesupergirl who helped me decide on what exactly to do with Eliza. You all rock! To anyone else out there reading this, please review, and to my existing reviewers, I love to hear all your feedback on this so don't stop reviewing.  
**


	5. Secrets revealed

Can what was be again?

Chapter 1: Secrets revealed.

Disclaimer: Hiromu Arakawa owns Full Metal Alchemist. I do not and I am writing this purely for mine and your enjoyment and do not get anything out of it.

Warning: Again, possible spoilers for the manga (I'm told it's chapter 58) Nothing that hasn't already been revealed in the story, but just watch out.

* * *

While the Colonel and the Lieutenant were down in Central, everyone else was having a good time, with the fact that Lieutenant Hawkeye was not Breathing down their necks to make sure they got their paperwork done and Mustang wasn't yelling at them for some idiotic reason. With Fullmetal somewhere else as well, the office was unusually quiet.

CRASH!

Well, maybe not. But how were they supposed to know that a stack of paperwork would cause such a big crash? "Havoc," Falman said severely, for it had been Havoc's paperwork that had reached so high it had simply fallen over. "That wouldn't have happened if you had actually done your paperwork and you know it,".

"I guess we do need Lieutenant Hawkeye to baby-sit us after all," Havoc admitted as he collected his paperwork that had scattered across the floor and stacked it up in a neat pile. "We don't think we need her much when she's here, but when she's gone we all really miss her,".

"They've been gone a few days," Fuery said. "Didn't Colonel Mustang say that as soon as they had dumped Eliza on Hughes, they'd come back? It doesn't take that long to get down to Central,"

"He did," Falman told Fuery. "But with Colonel Mustang it could well be another two weeks before they come back, regardless of how long the train ride takes," Falman then lowered his voice to speak to the younger officer. "And a word of advice Fuery. I'd get Black Hayate out of here before Breda notices,".

"I know Falman," Fuery replied, knowing that the dog should not be in the office at all, especially with Breda's fear of dogs. "It's just Lieutenant Hawkeye asked me to look after Hayate,"

"Just don't let Breda find out, or he'll be mad, o.k,".

Havoc, who had successfully managed to stack up some of his paperwork back on the desk, spoke up again. "Speaking of Eliza, what do you think Mustang and Hawkeye were talking about while they were closeted up in that office of his? It was obvious that they were discussing something about Eliza, or Mustang would have asked Hawkeye earlier,".

Falman answered quickly. "You know, I was wondering that as well. I wondered if it was linked to the fact that Eliza looks an awful lot like both the Colonel and the Lieutenant,".

"Do you think General Grumman knows anything?" Breda asked from where he was sitting, luckily still unaware of the fact Black Hayate was in the office. "Both of them seem to spend an awful lot of time with him. He's seen Eliza as well," The co-workers all looked at one another.

"Maybe we should just get Hughes to investigate Eliza's background. Then we could just go and get all the information we wanted out of the woman Eliza called Mother," Fuery suggested.

"Mrs Kempt," Falman said.

"Do you know how idiotic that sounds Fuery? And asking Hughes? I know he's one of the best investigators in the military, but you never know what he'll turn up and he won't hesitate to use it against anyone," Havoc told the younger sergeant.

"Listening to this argument is rather odd and highly entertaining you know," The four men in the office turned round and looked at the smiling General behind the,. They all scrambled to attention and saluted quickly. "You've listed every possible person who could know or get you information on Eliza, but you've never considered asking Mustang and Hawkeye for it or even stopped to think what relation she might be to either of them. Or even if she's related to them at all,".

"What do you think sir," Fuery nervously asked, still standing to attention. He was eager to know what the General thought of the entire situation though.

"You know something, so don't try and hide it General," Havoc said, lazily sitting back down and reaching for one of his cigarettes.

"I reckon Eliza is their daughter,"General Grumman stated. All four of Mustangs subordinates spluttered at this, not expecting that answer at all. Havoc dropped both his lighter and his cigarette, causing him momentarily to let out an "ouch" and Breda managed to force out a "what?".

"I know it must have crossed one of your minds, so don't try and deny it," Grumman said as he looked sternly at the four officers. Havoc sheepishly grinned as he reached down to retrieve his cigarette and lighter. Grumman in response continued his look, only focusing it in more on Havoc.

"All right, I'll admit it," Havoc said, putting his hands up in mockery once he had placed both his cigarette and lighter back on his desk. "When the similarities between Mustang and Hawkeye were pointed out, I did think about it, but I dismissed it quickly. Eliza's what, 10, 11? which means she was born before the Ishbal war started. Mustang and Hawkeye didn't even know each other back then,".

"Oh yes they did," the General contradicted Havoc. "Did you ever wonder where Mustang learnt his alchemy? It didn't just appear out of thin air you know," General Grumman looked at them all.

"No, but I do now," Breda said, looking strangely at the General.

"For your information, Colonel Mustang was taught the secret to Flame Alchemy by Mr. Hawkeye, Riza's father," Another gasp came form the mouths of Mustang's subordinates. They stumbled over garbled sentences, trying to get their disbelievement of what they had just been told out. "Roy lived permanently in that house until he was seventeen. I've forgotten when my so-in-law actually took Roy in,".

"Wait a minute," Fuery said, trying to process everything Grumman had just told them. "If Hawkeye's father was your son-in-law, doesn't that make Hawkeye your Granddaughter?" It would certainly explain why she spent a lot of spare time with the General.

"Yes," Grumman replied to Fuery.

"I never knew that," Breda said, moving his paperwork to the side so that he could see everyone better. After all, eye contact was always important.

Havoc spoke up. "I did. Hawkeye being Grumman's granddaughter I mean. After the Ishbal war had finished, when the General summoned her, she panicked. Mustang not being there for some stupid reason, I've forgotten what, and Hughes being on a date with Gracia, she turned to me for advice,"

Grumman thought for a moment, before coming back with, "I remember that. I had been looking through the records of everyone who had served in the Ishbal war and had come across the record of a young woman who was remarkably like my granddaughter, so I summoned her to my office. Turns out she was my granddaughter after all," he chuckled slightly.

"Still doesn't answer on why you think Eliza is Mustang and Hawkeye's daughter. So they knew each other before Ishbal, and lived in the same house. Doesn't really matter," Breda said, wondering whether the Generals earlier statement actually had any truth to it.

"There was something else as well. It was a year between when Mustang took the State Alchemy exam and became a state alchemist and Hawkeye signing up at the Military academy," Grumman was going to continue, but was interrupted.

"So what difference does that make?" Havoc asked the General. "A year isn't that specific of a gap. Doesn't really tell you anything. Loads of people have a year gap between entrances to the Military. What's so special about Hawkeye and Mustangs year gap?"

"One year could mean everything. Records state that a month after Mustang became a state alchemist, he took a trip out to see his teacher and Riza. To my memory, a few days after Roy arrived, my son-in-law died. I'm not saying Roy had anything to do with it. It's more of the fact that he was their with Riza at the time. A young and ambitious Roy coupled with a sad confused Riza," Grumman paused, mainly for breath, but also to see if any of them actually did make a connection. Seeing that none of them did, he was about to start speaking again when Falman spoke up.

"I think I get it," Falman said, but seeing as no one else did he continued. "Let me put this in simpler terms. We've all seen a drunken Mustang, right?" Everyone nodded. It was near impossible not to. "Now, try and imagine a sad Hawkeye," Falman got a few odd looks at this. "Try harder," he informed them. "Now put them together in an empty mansion..."

"And you get a tragic one night stand," Havoc said, getting what the General was on about. "I wonder if either of them actually remembers? But what does this have to do with the entire year thing?"

"Nine months later, if my suspicions are right, Eliza was born. In a month, Riza had probably given her up to this woman, Mrs Kempt. One more month, and she decides to head to Central to join the military and possibly track down her Fathers student," Grumman looked round. "And, voila, you have your year,".

"The evidence does point to Eliza being Mustang and Hawkeye's daughter," Fuery said. It still sounded odd to his ears. Daughter was not a word you used in the same sentence as Mustang and Hawkeye unless Elysia and Hughes were in their somewhere.

Havoc still wasn't quite sure. "Look, it's not like I don't trust your judgement General, but it just seems to odd. One night stand I can believe, but i can't see them having a daughter. Even if the evidence just about was under my eyes a few days ago. I can't picture Hawkeye as a mother either. A motherly figure to the Elrics she might be, but to actually have her own child?" Havoc wasn't doing a good job of convincing anyone that Eliza wasn't Mustang and Hawkeye's daughter, much less himself.

The General smiled, having expected this reaction from one of them, even if he did know that Havoc was only trying to convince himself. "Why don't you ask Hughes's opinion on this? Tell him everything I've told you and see what he makes of it. And as he's got access to Military records, he can check everything up," Grumman made for the door. "He'll probably reckon Eliza's their daughter as well though," and with that he vanished, no doubt to pester another officer.

The four officers stood silent for a moment, before bustling back to their work. Havoc's crash of paperwork earlier had made them realize that at least some of their work had to be done. And while they all want that phone call to Hughes to be made, no one wanted to be the one to actually get that phone in their hands and make the call.

A few minutes after the General had left, Havoc decided to say something. "So we're all going to sit here like babies because not one of us has the courage to call up Hughes and risk him ranting on about his precious daughter," Havoc shook his head. "We're all a bunch of losers,".

"If you say so," Breda answered, not really paying any attention to what Havoc was actually saying. Falman and Fuery both just nodded weakly as well, but they were paying more attention to their work.

Havoc sighed. "I might as well just get it over with. Where's the phone?" he looked around the room. No phone in sight. Probably Mustang had destroyed it before he left. There should be one in his office though. So that's where Havoc headed.

Picking up the phone and dialling Hughes's number, Havoc waited for Hughes to pick up; mentally preparing himself for the rant he knew he was going to receive. "Hello?" went Hughes's voice on the other end.

"Hello. It's Havoc," Havoc wished that someone else was doing this, not him. "Have Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye arrived with Eliza yet?" As soon as he spoke, Havoc regretted it. Now he would probably have to listen to two rants; one about Elysia and the other about Eliza.

Hughes answered cheerfully back as always. "Of course. Eliza's such a sweet little girl. She gets on with Elysia brilliantly as well. They're adorable together!" Hughes would have said more, but had no chance to, as Havoc butted in.

"Hughes, that's enough," Havoc said, now understanding just how tempting it was just to destroy the phone. Probably why Mustang kept setting them on fire or destroying them via other means. "Where are Mustang and Hawkeye now anyway?" Havoc hoped that they were not in the house. Otherwise he would be questioned like hell when the two of them got back.

"Roy persuaded Riza to go shopping," Hughes said as he remembered back to that morning and the night before. After giving Eliza to Hughes, he had insisted that the two of them come inside and stay the night. What had followed was a hotly contested yelling match between Roy and Riza over who slept on the couch and who slept in the guest room. Riza had said that Roy needed his rest and therefore should have the guest room and Roy protesting that he was used to the couch and that Riza should have the guest room. Eventually, Riza had given in and agreed to sleep in the guest room.

The day after, Roy had insisted on taking Riza out shopping (don't ask anyone why), even though she had told him several times that they both ought to get back to the office, as there was paperwork that needed doing. Roy had just about had to drag her out of Hughes's house (making sure he had first hidden her guns). Who knew what they were doing now though? If Riza had got her guns back, Roy could well be running for his life by now.

"How on earth did Mustang get Hawkeye of all people to go shopping?" Havoc asked. He couldn't even imagine Hawkeye _going_ shopping, let alone with Mustang.

Hughes laughed, "I believe Roy stole and hid her guns somewhere so she couldn't shoot him and promised to do his paperwork. Hard to believe, I know," he laughed again. "Anyhow, why did you call me up again,"

Havoc groaned. Here came the explaining part. "General Grumman said to call. Said to ask if you had noticed anything odd about Eliza," So that wasn't quite what the General had asked him to do. It was probably not the best idea to be coming straight out with the information they had just learnt to Hughes.

"I hadn't, apart from the fact that she's extremely adorable, but I doubt the General was looking for that," At the other end Havoc shook his head. Trust Hughes to come up with something like that. "Was I supposed to notice anything?" Hughes wondered. He couldn't be missing something completely obvious, could he?

"I was just asking. Or rather the General was," Havoc paused. Would it be best to just spit it all out now? Or wait until later? He might as well just get it over with. "You see, the general reckons Eliza's Hawkeye and Mustangs daughter," Havoc said it fast, in hopes that Hughes wouldn't actually hear it.

He had no such luck however. "Eliza, Roy's daughter?" Hughes scoffed. "She's too sweet for that. And I can't imagine Riza and Roy having had a daughter together, much as I may want to," Hughes paused. Riza hadn't put up that much of an argument when Roy had hidden her guns and taken her shopping earlier. Could it be because of Eliza?

"Listen Hughes. Look at Eliza and tell me if she doesn't look like Mustang and Hawkeye. Plus when you find out what we were told by the General, I think you'll be stunned," or ecstatic and screaming for joy, Havoc thought. By now, he had managed to actually convince himself that Eliza was their daughter, despite his best efforts to convince himself she wasn't.

Hughes thought of Eliza. "She does have those coal eyes like Roy. And her blond hair is similar to Riza's as well," Hughes wondered a bit more. "Could just be a coincidence though,".

"That's what we thought when we noticed the similarities," Havoc sighed. "But what General Grumman siad made us think differently. You see..." Havoc proceeded to tell Hughes what the General had just told them, Roy and Riza knowing each other before Ishbal, Riza's fathers death and the suspected one night stand. "See Hughes. There's a lot more going on here than you thought. You might want to double check the facts, but apart from that you'll have to make your own judgement,".

Havoc put down the phone, not wanting to listen to any of Hughes reply's to the information. "Well thank goodness that's over," he said to himself, before heading back into the office. "Guys, I told Hughes everything the General told us,".

"And..."

"I don't know. I never listened to his answer," Havoc replied.

* * *

**A/N: I know it's late (I said to someone it'd be out be Monday) but it ran away with me again and has therefore took longer than I expected. I hope the conversation between Hughes and Havoc doesn't confuse anyone too much. Thnak you once again to all my loyal reviewers, it brightens my day. To those who read and don't review, your reviews make me happy and much more inspired to write. **


	6. Shopping and another Train

Can what was be Again?

Chapter 6: Shopping and another Train

Disclaimer: Hiromu Arakawa owns Full Metal Alchemist. I do not and I am writing this purely for mine and your enjoyment and do not get anything out of it.

On the cool Central morning that it was, those who had known Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye during their time at Central watched in amazement as the two went shopping together. Privately, many thought Mustang was still lucky to be alive, but they were all discussing it with their friends, those knowing about the large betting pool about the two's relationship wondering whether it had been won yet.

Hawkeye looked like she was starting to get annoyed, and Roy knew it. Therefore, he knew he would have to bring the shopping spree to a close before he truly did get his head shot of. "Hawkeye," he said, after all, he could hardly call her by her first name in such a public place. "Do you think we ought to be heading back to East Headquarters?".

Hawkeye gave her superior a strange look, hadn't he been begging and pleading with her all morning to get her to delay their return to the East? "Sir, it was time to be heading back to East Headquarters several hours ago. You have been pleading with me all that time for us not to go back. What has made you change your mind so suddenly?".

Roy wondered, should he tell her or try to skirt around it? "Well... you see...," Ah heck, he might as well just get on with it. "You looked like you were starting top get angry," It sounded so pathetic. And truly it was.

Hawkeye looked back at Roy. Had he really said that? "Sir, what do you mean by that? Me being angry is not a case to turn back and head straight for East. And besides, I wasn't angry," She scorned Roy, and his pathetic excuse.

"You weren't? You certainly looked that way,".

Hawkeye sighed. Why did Roy have to be an idiot sometimes? "Just because I looked angry, does not mean I was. I was just thinking about Eliza," And how that translated in Roy's mind to angry Hawkeye did not know.

Roy looked at Hawkeye, not quite knowing what to say back to that in public. So he just stayed silent for a few minutes, both of them continuing to walk along the street. And despite the many shops that they passed, not one seemed to catch their attention. That was until Riza saw the bookstore.

"Sir, can I go in their?" Hawkeye asked politely, pointing to the bookstore. "I finished my book last night and wanted to get another," Roy just nodded, before following her up the steps into the store. How did his subordinate read so fast? It usually took Roy at least a week to finish any book.

Deciding not to venture further into the shop, he instead waited near the entrance and waited for Hawkeye to reappear with whatever book she wanted to buy. He momentarily scanned the shelves, seeing if there was anything that he might be interested in, but he saw nothing. So, Roy stood there patiently, for a few minutes at least.

Roy was starting to get impatient, how long did it take to find a book in this store? Of course, he had forgotten how long he trekked for his Alchemy books. Luckily, Hawkeye chose then to reappear, book under her arm.

"So, that's what you want?" Roy asked Hawkeye, eyeing the book. He noticed that it was by the same author she had been reading earlier.

"Yes. I've gone and paid for it, so now we can go," Hawkeye replied. They both headed out of the shop, and though there was no agreement between them, they started to head towards the train station, Hawkeye always a couple of footsteps behind Roy.

Reaching the train station, Roy spoke. "Hawkeye, I'll go and get the tickets. Just wait here for a moment," he disappeared towards the ticket office, leaving Hawkeye standing on the platform alone. A train whistle blew, a call for a train which was heading out to Resembool, and the general hustle and bustle of the station passed around.

Roy came back, holding the tickets in his hand and silently stood next to Hawkeye as they both waited for the train which would carry them back to East Headquarters. "Boarding now for the East! Boarding now for the East!" a voice yelled, as the train had come in.

Hawkeye and Roy silently got on board the train, finding an empty compartment and sitting down in it. Hawkeye got out her book and began to read, while Roy just sat down and stared out the window, preparing himself for the long journey back to the East.

After a few minutes, and a final call for the train, it started to move, chugging out of the station, and on it's long journey to the East. Roy watched the scenery outside the window, the houses, sometimes fields as they moved further out of Central. Riza continued to sit there, completely absorbed in her book, so when the Colonels eyes passed over her, she never noticed.

_She looks so peaceful sitting there_ Roy thought, _She's usually so tense. She should relax more often._ Roy shook his head. What was he thinking? Riza would never relax. It just wasn't in her nature. Sometimes Roy was glad because of her constant concentration, but other times he wasn't. It had saved his butt several times, but it also meant he was never let off his paperwork.

So Roy just sat there, staring both out the window and at Riza Hawkeye as the Train chugged it's way out towards the East, and back towards the paperwork.

* * *

**A/N: If anyone wants to say this chapter is pathetic, feel free to say so. I reckon it definitely is. Sorry about the wait as well, I just really didn't know where to go with this chapter (which explains the shortness and the crapiness of it). So yeah, not my best chapter, but I really had no idea what to do. Thank you to all my reviewers, and an extra big thank you to whoever put me in their C2. Reviews are welcomed.**


	7. Mrs Kempt appears

Can what was be Again?

Chapter 7: Mrs Kempt Appears

Disclaimer: Hiromu Arakawa owns Full Metal Alchemist. I do not and I am writng this purely for mine and your enjoyment and do not get anything out of it. Many thanks also to Bar-Ohki for the Idea. The dialogue with Roy on the phone and the conversation with Riza is from episode 25.

* * *

Outside East Headquarters, a Woman stood. She looked up at the building, before sighing and heading for the entrance. However much she despised the Military, she knew that they were probably the only people who could possibly help her right now. 

"Excuse me," she asked the guard at the entrance. "Where is the commanders office?" To tell the truth, she had no idea who even commanded Eastern Headquarters, which is why she had phrased her question the way she had.

The recruit pondered for a minute before answering, "Oh, you mean Lieutenant General Grumman's office. If you carry on straight down this hall, turn right then left again, you should reach another long corridor. Grumman's office is at the end," The woman looked puzzled at this. "If you get lost, just ask someone,".

The woman nodded politely to the guard, before continuing inside to look for the Lieutenant General's office. Surprising herself, the Headquarters were actually very easy to get around and she found Grumman's office with no problems. She knocked quietly on the door, waiting for an answer.

"Come in," yelled a cheerful voice. The woman hesitantly opened the door, revealing the old General and Second Lieutenant Heymans Breda playing a game of chess. "Now don't be shy, come in," the General said, sounding like he was talking to a four year old, when actually the woman was in her mid-thirties.

"Hello," the woman said. "I was wondering if you could help me with something,". Inside her head, there was much more going on, like why on Earth the Head of East Headquarters was playing chess with some other guy.

The General was quick to answer, but not before moving one of his chess pieces and causing Breda to sigh in Frustration. "Of course I can help. What do you need?" He asked so cheerfully, ignoring Breda's sighs in the background.

"I wondered if you could help me find my daughter. She disappeared about a week or two ago," The woman said. Instantly, Breda drew himself away from the Chess game he was rapidly losing. "Name of Eliza, she had blond hair and these deep black eyes," At this, both the General and Breda raised their eyebrows.

"May I ask your name, Mrs.?" Grumman asked, already having his suspicions on who this woman was.

"It's Miss, Miss Kempt," The woman said.

"Well, Miss Kempt, I recommend you go and ask Colonel Mustang," Grumman said after a pause. Breda was surprised on this; did the General not know that both Mustang and Hawkeye were in Central delivering Eliza to Hughes? Thinking about it, Grumman probably did, otherwise Miss Kempt might well accuse the Military of kidnapping Eliza.

"And where can I find this Colonel Mustang?" Miss Kempt asked, still keeping up her air of politeness which she had had since the start.

Breda turned to look properly at Miss Kempt before saying, "I should be able to help you out there, Miss. I'm Second Lieutenant Heymans Breda, and I work under Colonel Mustang. I can lead you to he office where we work," despite the fact that Mustang's not actually there, he thought afterwards.

Miss Kempt nodded and Breda stood up, apologizing to the Lieutenant General for having to cut the game short. Breda then led Miss Kempt through the winding halls of East Headquarters, opening the door to Mustangs office when they got to it. Fuery, who had been working next to the door looked up when the door was opened.

"Excuse me," Miss Kempt, despite the fact she had Breda beside her. "Is Colonel Mustang here?" Breda shook his head at this. He was irritated at this woman already. She just ignored everyone. He was beginning to see that Eliza might have run away for more than the obvious reason. Who would want this woman as a mother?

It was Havoc who answered. "Sorry Miss, but he's not here currently. He's in Central on business work. Why do you want to speak to him?" Havoc asked, wondering why this woman would just come in and ask for the Colonel, especially as she had Breda standing beside her.

Miss Kempt answered briskly, "I was told by General Grumman that he might be able to help me. I am looking for my daughter who disappeared about a week or so ago," breda sat down after she had said that. He was not going to help this woman at all.

"And what makes General Grumman so certain that we will be able to help you?" Havoc asked, after all, this wasn't their usual area of expertise. In fact, they had never been asked to look for a missing child before. Well, they had had to find Edward sometimes, but he didn't really count.

"I have no idea," Miss Kempt answered truthfully. "He just said that I should come here and ask Colonel Mustang,".

"Who was your daughter?" Falman asked, after all, he nor anyone else could help her if they did not know who the girl was.

"Her name was Eliza, blond hair, black eyes," Miss Kempt rattled off automatically. It was as if she had been practicing this for weeks.

"Well that explains a lot," Havoc muttered under his breath, luckily not being heard by Miss Kempt. He then spoke to Miss Kempt. "We will try and find your daughter as soon as possible, ma'am,". Of course, Havoc knew exactly where Eliza was, in Central with Hughes, but he wasn't going to tell Miss Kempt that. Eliza had run away for a pretty serious reason after all.

"Thank you," Mrs Kempt said, before heading for the door. But before she could reach it, it was opened by Colonel Mustang, who had returned from Central. Miss Kempt was about to walk past him without a word, if it hadn't been for the fact that Lieutenant Hawkeye had come in behind him.

Miss Kempt froze. What was that girl doing here? "You," She said, pointing a finger at Hawkeye. "You were the one who gave me Eliza. What are you doing here?" she asked. Then another thought occurred to her. "What have you done with my daughter?"

Hawkeye remained perfectly calm. "Sara, she wasn't your daughter in the first place. I gave her to you on the account that you were to raise her well. You haven't even done that. How do you expect to claim ownership of her?" Hawkeye didn't seem to be concerned with the fact that she had just given pretty good evidence that Eliza was her daughter.

"You were the one who abandoned her," Miss Kempt, or Sara, yelled. "All for that stupid Military training. You don't deserve to have had a child. Eliza should never have been yours in the first place! She should have been mine!! Mine alone!!" Sara protested.

The other co-workers looked at Sara with alarm. Surely she should not be acting like this? "I thought, when you claimed her," Hawkeye said, still in the calm voice she always used. "That you were claiming her on yours and your husbands behalf. And I've already said this to you. I joined the Military because there was and still is someone I need to protect,".

"My husband is dead,"Sara stated.

"But, you use Miss in front of your name," Fuery pointed out. "Do you have no honour or love for your husband?" After all, even Widows often kept there Mrs. Status.

"That is none of your concern," Sara yelled at Fuery. "All of you have nothing to do with this. Except her," Sara once again pointed ot Hawkeye.

"Excuse me," Roy swiftly cut in. "By speaking to one if my subordinates like that, you have made it my business. And if you do anything to harm Riza, you will pay. And..." he added as his voice dropped to an undertone. "I was involved from the beginning,".

Sara's mouth dropped open at this. Havoc, Breda, Fuery and Falman all thought the same thing, even though they hadn't actually heard what had been said, they knew it was fairly important for this woman just to drop her mouth open.

"You're Mr. Hawkeye's Alchemy student," Sara whispered, still in shock. "I saw you down in the village a few times," So had everyone else. No one had thought much of the boy with black hair and black eyes. They had all known that he had come to study alchemy and that was enough for them.

"You did?" Roy asked. "I was under the assumption that you didn't know who I was. Especially as you so rudely tried to walk straight past me when I came in," By this point, Havoc, Breda, Fuery and Falman were completely and utterly lost.

"Are you getting a word of this?" Fuery asked Falman.

"Not really," Falman answered back.

"Sara, I am not in the mood for this anymore," Riza said, hoping to get rid of her. "You do not seem to have listened carefully enough. Did you not wonder how I knew you had treated Eliza badly?" Riza was careful of how she said this, and had one hand resting on one of her guns should Miss Kempt try anything.

"You have her..." Sara realised, before lunging at Riza, hands outstretched. Riza pulled her gun out, but Roy managed to catch Sara round the waist before she did anything to dramatic. Sara continued to try and escape Roy's grasp, but Roy held fast.

"Correction," Roy said. "My best friend has her. And at the moment I think he is the one who currently deserves Eliza most," All of the co-workers in the office agreed. What they had seen of Sara had made them certain that she didn't deserve the child. And neither Riza nor Roy had the time to look after a child. So Hughes really was the best person to have Eliza.

"I don't care," Sara screamed. "Eliza's mine!" No one really cared about her protestations now though. Not just because they were bored of them, but for another reason too.

The telephone had started ringing.

Roy passed Sara to Havoc and Breda, before reaching over for the telephone. Riza kept a close eye on her superior, no one wanted him to destroy the phone again.

The person on the other end seemed to be speaking a lot, and the look on Roy's face differed as he listened. He then let out an exclamation. "Why didn't you tell me the Elric Brothers were hospitalized?"

Riza looked at Roy in surprise. She had assumed Hughes was calling, but it didn't sound like Roy was replying to one of Hughes silly remarks. But then, she supposed, Hughes could be sensible sometimes.

Roy then slammed the phone down. It didn't take anyone long to guess that it was Hughes on the other line and that he had just said to Roy "Get a wife!". Riza though knew how to deal with Roy's moods and just said in her normal way, "Colonel, please put the phone down quietly,"

"Lieutenant, book me a train," Roy said, looking straight at Riza. He seemed to have forgotten that Sara was in the room.

"To Central City?" Riza asked, even though they had been on two trains in the past 48 hours. She knew the Elric brothers had been researching something in Central.

"Something is happening," Roy replied. Riza took that as a yes. She knew what all the Colonel's little codes were.

But Sara had something more to say, "Take me with you!!" she screamed at Roy. "That was your friend on the phone, was it not? Take me back to my child," She continued to scream.

"Lieutenant," Roy said calmly. "book that train to Central and let us be gone straight away," he signaled to Sara who was lying shrieking on the floor. "If you want to come with us, pick yourself up and stop screaming," he said, before walking out the door.

* * *

**A/N: And another chapter is done. And all my readers ought to say a big thank you to Bar-Ohki because without her this chapter would have take at least twice as long. Well, Miss Kempt certainly is crazy, isn't she. I reckon I probably have three or four more chapters left of this. Again, a big thank you to all my reviewers, you are all brilliant! **


	8. Betrayal

Can what was be again?

Chapter 8: Betrayal?

Disclaimer: Hiromu Arakawa owns Full Metal Alchemist. I do not and I am writng this purely for mine and your enjoyment and do not get anything out of it.

Sheska paused for a moment, trying to catch her breath. She knew that the break would not last for long, after all, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes seemed determined to find whatever it was he was looking for. He even had that little Eliza kid dashing around like a madman.

"Sheska, I need those books from the second shelf please," Hughes said with an urgent tone. "And put these books back while you're at it," he said as Sheska rushed past briskly, her heels clanking on the floor.

"Yes sir," she said, picking up the books and dumping another load on his desk. It was a good thing, she supposed, that Hughes hadn't got any paperwork. Actually, Armstrong was taking care of it, knowing how important Hughes research was.

Eliza walked into the office, carting a bow of books. She passed Sheska, who looked worriedly at her, before continuing on to Hughes desk. She heard him muttering to himself as she plonked the box down.

"Lab 5 wasn't just an accident. Basque Grand knew about it all along. Those Chimera experiments as well, Shou Tucker, never killed after all. And Havoc had to throw Grumman's explanation on top of me as well," Eliza didn't understand a lot of what Hughes was saying, it was all mumble jumble to her. Hughes looked up from his ramblings, "Oh, thanks Eliza," he said as he saw the books.

After acknowledging Eliza, he went back to his murmuring. "Bloody Military records. Do they not keep any records of the State Alchemist certification test?" Eliza made a move to go, but Hughes continued rambling and Eliza paused to see what Hughes had to say. "There's got to be a record somewhere of who Roy learnt his Alchemy from. Even a record of where he was living before he applied would be helpful,".

Eliza recognised the Roy who Hughes was talking about, at least, she thought she did. He had been the man who had brought her down to Central. Roy had actually been quite nice, although he had shouted and argued with the blond woman a lot.

Hughes continued to murmer. "I wonder if there's any record of Riza's father somewhere. It might say if he was researching Flame Alchemy or had anything to do with it," Hughes then yelled for Sheska, intending for her to go down to records to see if there was anything. "Sheska, see if you can find any records on a Mr. Hawkeye,".

Sheska ran off, wondering if the Mr. Hawkeye Hughes had mentioned had any relation to the First lieutenant Hawkeye. Hughes continued to sit at his desk, thinking and murmuring to himself, while Eliza chose to sit on the floor and listen to what Hughes had to say. It was obvious that Hughes wasn't aware of the fact that Eliza was still in his office or he wouldn't have said the things he did.

"Could what Havoc have said been true? Is Eliza really Roy and Riza's daughter? I know I've been wanting the two of them to get together for ages, but still," Eliza was alert as soon as her name was mentioned. But when she heard what Hughes had to say about Roy and Riza, she was shocked.

Eliza decided to try and get out of the office without Hughes noticing; she didn't want him to know that she had overheard him speaking about her. As soon as she was out of the office, she ran for it, past all the confused Military staff and straight out the building.

Sheska walked back into the office a few minutes later, taking Eliza's absence as Hughes sending the girl off to get more books again. Sheska carted in her arms a single file, all that the Military apparently had on Mr. Hawkeye. She placed it on Hughes desk and waited for him to look at it.

Hughes took the file, opened it, looked inside for a minute, before closing it and standing up. He reached for his coat, grabbing the file as he did so and then started to walk out. He paused at the door, looking back at Sheska. "Sheska, you're fired," was all he said as he disappeared out the door.

Sheska just stood there looking stunned. She desperately hoped Hughes wasn't going to do anything stupid. But, she realised, there was no point in hoping – if Hughes had gotten it into his head that he needed to do something stupid, then he would.

Outside Military headquarters, Eliza sat on one of the benches, contemplating what she had just heard. Hughes had sounded uncertain, but still, what if Riza and Roy really were her parents? Did they know? If so, why hadn't they told her?

Eliza saw Hughes run out of Headquarters, clutching the file that Eliza assumed was the one he had ordered Sheska to look for. Eliza saw him disappear round the corner, before she decided to follow him, hoping that maybe he would let slip more about her supposed parents.

She caught Hughes up, but she had to make sure she wasn't seen by him, so she stuck to the sides and shadows of the streets as much as possible. When Hughes entered a building, however, Eliza decided that there was no point sticking to the shadows, if she got caught, she got caught. So she followed Hughes into the building.

Eliza watched Hughes going up the stairs. As he did so, she realised what Hughes probably was doing there. Looking for Tim Marcoh. She had heard Hughes mention the guy earlier and his intent to got and look for him.

Seeing the Fuhrer's assistant at the top of the stairs waiting for Hughes only confirmed Eliza's convictions. It had to be Military business, otherwise why would the Fuhrer's assistant be there? And the only true Military business Eliza had heard Hughes mention was going after Tim Marcoh.

Eliza stood there as she waited for Hughes to be done with whatever business was taking place. He was still talking to Juliet, Eliza couldn't quite make out what he was saying, but she knew it was probably fairly important. Juliet didn't seem to be that pleased at what Hughes was saying though.

Hughes then turned to open the door, but he did so warily, as Eliza noticed. A good thing he did so too, as before he had even laid his hand on the door, he was surprised by this woman in a long black dress. She talked to him, and Hughes said something back. But Eliza couldn't hear what they were saying, not just because they were too far away, but because she had come aware of boots pounding up the stairs behind her.

Eliza turned round, looking for who it was and then ducked. It was Second Lieutenant Ross, with her gun out. Eliza was on the floor, the sound of the gunshots being released from Ross's gun ringing in her ears.

All Eliza heard after that was Hughes and Ross pounding out the building. She heard the woman in the black dress say something to the Fuhrer's assistant, only the black dress woman referred to her as Sloth. The two women then walked out of the building, the black dress woman muttering, "I hope Envy does his job properly,".

Eliza stood up, thankful that she had not been seen by anyone. If she had, who knows what would have happened to her. But she hadn't been seen, and that was the main thing. So now, all that was left to do was to find where Hughes and Ross had gone and what they were doing.

Outside the hotel, Eliza looked for any signs of where Hughes and Ross might have gone. In the dark, she noticed that there were spots of blood on the ground. Knowing that it was very likely that Hughes had been injured, Eliza decided to follow the trail, hoping it would lead to the two of them.

After following the trail for several minutes, she saw a phone box. But what else was there terrified Eliza. Hughes body was laying on the ground, obviously dead. A picture of him and his family lay beside him. Standing near the body was a person who looked like a maniac.

"Hey little girl, why don't you come out here?" The person said as they caught sight of Eliza. In their hands was the file on Mr. Hawkeye which Hughes had been reading earlier.

Eliza nervously took a step forward as she asked, "Who are you?".

"Me? I'm Envy," The person said. He then glanced over Eliza, taking in her looks.

"Did you kill Hughes?" Eliza asked.

"Of course. He knew too much. I still don't know why he had this file though," Envy shook the file that he was holding about. "Why would Hughes need information on Hawkeye anyway? Why not go and ask that Bastard Colonel too tell him all about his Lieutenant?".

Eliza stared at Envy. And Envy stared back. And then Envy realised it. "I get it now. You're that Flame Alchemist brats daughter. And by his Lieutenant as well," Envy laughed. "Who'd thought?".

"You, missy, are coming with me. Wait until the rest of the Homunculi hear about this," Envy grabbed Eliza. He then ran off into the night.

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry for making everyone wait ages for this to be updated. ** **The only excuses I hace is that I've been away on camp twice over the past few weeks and haven't been able to write. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Thank you so much to all the people who have stuk with this story. Please review, hopefully I'll update faster.**

** P.S: I think I'll be spending some time going through all my unfinished stuff on my computer and deciding what needs rewriting, what needs chucking, and what needs finishing. I'll try and get the update out as soon as possibly though.  
**


	9. Annoying Returns

Can what was be again?

Chapter 9:

Disclaimer: Hiromu Arakawa owns Full Metal Alchemist. I do not and I am writing this purely for mine and your enjoyment and do not get anything out of it.

Everyone had left; Hughes funeral was over. There were only two people left standing in front of his grave, Roy Mustang, and his loyal subordinate Riza Hawkeye. Roy had taken of his hat, letting his previously neatly combed hair roam free once again. The Lieutenant just stood behind Roy, waiting for him to say or do something.

But, he never did. He just continued to stare at his best friends grave, hopelessly lost in the engravings. So Riza thought she had better speak up. "It's raining, sir," she said quietly, so only he could hear. The fact that it was fine and sunny didn't really matter. Riza knew that Roy would understand though.

"So it is Lieutenant," Roy said, looking up at the sky. Utter silence filled around the two for a few seconds, but it was broken by the angry screams of one woman. Sara Kempt just stormed into the graveyard, with no respect for the fact that Roy's best friend had just died, and started to scream at him.

As Riza looked at the screaming woman, she was very tempted just to shoot her. But that would be bad, and would probably not do anything to calm her down. "Miss Kempt," she said, moving closer to the woman, "I understand that you are worried about Eliza, but the fact is that she has just disappeared. No one has any idea where she may have gone. The Military will be on the lookout for the child, though,".

"How can you understand?" Miss Kempt screamed. "You abandoned Eliza and didn't think about her for twelve years. How can you understand what I'm going through right now?" The screams were annoying Riza, but the comments about not caring hit her even harder. Just because she had never come back for the child didn't mean that she hadn't ever regretted her decision to give Eliza up.

Roy, standing in front of Hughes grave still, realised Riza's discomfort and decided to speak up. "Miss Kempt, if we have any news on Eliza's location, we will contact General Grumman immediately who will pass the news on to you. In the mean time, I suggest you go back to the East and stop annoying my Lieutenant," Roy was angry, especially when Miss Kempt's comments really sunk in and he realised what they meant.

Miss Kempt stomped off in a huff, realising that she would have better luck bothering someone else for information, Roy and Riza weren't going to give her any.

Back at the Graveyard, Roy stood beside his Lieutenant. He looked at her, noticing that she looked slightly shaken. It was no wonder, one of her friends had died and her daughter was missing. "Riza, why don't we go home," Roy said as he offered his arm to her.

"Thank you, Colonel," was Riza's reply, and Roy knew her well enough by now to take that as a yes. She slipped her arm round the Colonel's, and they walked out the graveyard together.

As they walked through Central's streets, Riza thought about what she had heard from Sheska earlier. After finding out from Gracia that Hughes had taken Eliza into work with him, Riza had questioned the young girl who she knew had worked under Hughes. Sheska had admitted she had seen the child, but she had not seen Eliza after Hughes had left the office. It was like Eliza had just disappeared.

Riza knew that was impossible, but it did seem that way. There was no trace of Eliza anywhere. A good thing was her body had not been found anywhere, but no one who the Military had questioned had seen her. Riza only hoped that whoever had killed Hughes hadn't done anything with her.

* * *

At Dante's house in the country side, there were two people standing outside. Envy and Eliza. Eliza was tired, Envy hadn't exactly come the easy route to Dublith, nor had he stopped so she could rest. And now they were standing outside some house in the middle of no where. 

"Envy, where are we?" Eliza asked, but Envy just remained silent. He seemed to be looking around, but then turned his head up to look at the building.

"Stay here squirt, until I come back," Envy said before leaping up and disappearing.

Eliza waited, in the the time that she had been with Envy she had learnt one thing – you obeyed what he said without question. She had only made a slight remark questioning something he had said when she had found his hands around her neck ready to strangle her and glaring at her like crazy.

She decided though, that sitting down on the grass could not hurt, so she did so. From one of the windows, Lyra spotted the girl sitting on the grass, but thought nothing of it, there were often kids who had from the town who had wandered outside the city for fun and had gotten slightly lost and stopped outside the house. Lyra just thought that Eliza was another of those kids.

It was only a few minutes later, when Dante came walking past telling her to put the kettle on and get some biscuits out that Lyra thought that maybe the child was there for a reason. Her suspicions were confirmed when Eliza came into the kitchen and Dante shepherded her onto one of the seats at the long table.

"What would you like darling? We have tea and biscuits, and if you would like some juice I'm sure Lyra could find you some," Dante spoke really nicely to Eliza, and Eliza wasn't about to pass up the opportunity for food (it had been a long time since she had eaten anything) so she replied immediately.

"May I please have some juice?" Eliza said pleasantly, her voice losing the despair that had been in it before. Her hand reached out for a biscuit, hovering over the different kind before selecting a chocolate one. From the end of the kitchen Lyra watched the child carefully, while still getting the cup of juice.

Dante walked over to the door, "Lyra, I have things to attend to, so can you please look after the child for me," Dante disappeared.

* * *

"Envy, who is she?" Dante asked crisply as she walked back intot he room where Envy had first told her about the child. 

"What, the kid? Name's Eliza, she's that Bastard Colonel and his annoying Lieutenant's daughter," Envy siad, leaning casually against one of the walls.

"How can you be so sure?" Dante asked him.

"Isn't it obvious?" Envy asked. "She looks so much like that bratty Lieutenant anyway. And she's got Colonel Bastards eyes. Plus, Hughes was holding a folder containing information on a Hawkeye, which happens to be that bratty Lieutenant's daughter,".

"Interesting. We might be able to use the girl later. But for now we must keep her hidden," Dante said. "We wouldn't want my former apprentice finding out about the girl would we?".

"No mistress," Envy replied.

* * *

It had been a few weeks since Hughes death and Eliza's disappearance. Riza sat in the office at Central, going over paperwork. She could hear her superior officer on the phone with her grandfather (they had been discussing rather a lot of things lately, especially since the guys had come clean and said that they knew about Eliza's parentage and Miss Kempt had apparently not stopped bothering General Grumman).

After a few minutes, Roy came out of his office, looking slightly annoyed. Riza looked up, about to enquire as to what they had been talking about, but Roy beat her to it. "I'm beginning to wish I'd burnt that damn woman to crisp while I had the chance. No one at East is getting any work done simply because she keeps insisting that they all look for her "precious darling daughter,". Roy shook his head. "They had to forcibly remove her from headquarters,".

Riza was surprised. It was true Miss Kempt was annoying but she didn't think that anyone would have to forcibly remove her. "Sir, while burning that damn woman to crisp might be a good idea and one we'd all appreciate, it wouldn't look very good. Is there not something else we can do to get rid of Miss Kempt," Riza asked.

"Leave it to me Lieutenant," Havoc said as he poked his head up from the overflowing piles of paperwork. "Colonel, if you can give me and Breda leave, we'll go down to East for a few days and sort Miss Kempt out," Breda too looked up from the paperwork towers.

"Fine, but don't do anything too extreme," Roy said, knowing what might happen. "We just want to get her away from Headquarters and the Military, that's all,".

* * *

**A/N: Miss Kempt is back! And I'm sure she'll be as hated as she was last time. Oh! and I need your opinions. Do you think I should write out entirely what Havoc and Breda do to Miss Kempt (which I wasn't planning to) or should I just carry on with what I was doing? (P.S If Havoc and Breda do do anything, I'll need some help in deciding what they do do)  
Death Butterfly Alchemist, a quick side note for you, this will contain massive spoilers for later on in the series. I probably won't mark them either, so just watch out. Unitl next time, read and review and thank you all.  
**


	10. Havoc's cousin

Can what was be Again?

Chapter 10: Havoc's cousin

Disclaimer: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist. It belongs to Hiromu Arakawa-sensei.

* * *

"So Jean, what brings you back home all of a sudden? I thought you had transferred along with Colonel Mustang to Central?" Havoc's cousin asked, as she opened the door on both him and Breda. With a bowl in her hand, still stiring the mixture inside with a spoon, it was obvious that they had interrupted her whilst she had been in the middle of something.

"Mary, instead of discussing this in the doorway, why don't you let me and Breda inside?" Havoc said, annoyed about the fact that if his cousin hadn't have had that bowl in her hands which was probably dinner) he could have just marched straight past her.

Seeing that nothing would be achieved until she had let Havoc inside (and fed him as well) , Mary moved and went back to the kitchen where preparations for dinner were well underway. Both Breda and Havoc tossed their Military jackets on the side of one of the chairs as they sat down.

When Mary was convinced that nothing in the kitchen would need her attention within the next few minutes, she wandered back into the room that Havoc and Breda had entered. "Jean, I know that you wouldn't come and visit the family for absolutely no reason, so why are you here? And how about introducing your friend here while you're at it," Mary waved the rolling pin in her hands at Breda.

Havoc sighed. Why was it every he went he was accused of something? "Mary, this is Second Lieutenant Heymans Breda, who works under the Chief with me,".

"And why are you here?" Mary prompted.

"To annoy the heck out of one Miss Kempt," Havoc said mischievously, rubbing his palms together at the thought of what he could do to the woman. He was allowed about ten seconds of greedy thinking before WHACK! Mary had hit him very hard with her rolling pin.

"Jean! That's not very nice!" exclaimed Mary as Havoc cried out in pain from her rolling pin. "Why should you harm some poor defenceless woman?"

"Miss Kempt is not poor, and probably not defenceless. Anyway, we're here to save he from a far worse fate. You've heard of Mustang and his alchemy, I presume," Mary nodded in reply to Breda. "He was wanting to burn Miss Kempt to crisp,"

"Who is this woman anyway?" Mary asked, seeing as everyone seemed to be so annoyed with her, Mary might as well know who she is. How could she know if Miss Kempt did deserve to be burnt to crisp if Mary didn't know who she was.

"The most annoying woman you'll ever meet," was Havoc's reply to his cousins question.

Breda decided to elaborate a bit more. "She turned up in East headquarters just before we got transferred. Asked us if we could find her missing daughter before starting shrieking at first Lieutenant Hawkeye. She hasn't stopped bugging everyone at East since,"

"So she's pretty bad," Mary said, her imagination conjuring up horrible things. "Wait you said she was looking for her missing daughter? Down in the village, one of my friends told me that there was a woman who kept moaning and shrieking about her lost daughter and how "Riza didn't deserve the child" and "How dare that man get in the way?",".

Havoc and Breda both nodded. "That's her,"

"How can you tell?" Mary asked. "There are probably loads of woman who have lost daughters," Mary then realised that there were things in the kitchen that needed her attention.

Havoc leaned over to Breda, and in a whisper said, "But how many of them scream and wail and curse Riza and the Chief?".

* * *

After eating the delicious (yet slightly burnt) dinner that Mary had cooked (there had been just enough food to go round, which had been lucky as Mary originally had only had plan to cook for herself) Havoc and Breda settled down to try and think up plans for getting Miss Kempt out of Eastern Headquarters for good. 

"Do you think we should tell East and General Grumman about what we plan to do?" Breda asked. Their plans so far looked pathetic.

Havoc looked up from his doodling "Nah, we'll only get in trouble for allegedly disturbing the peace even though we're earning East some rest,".

"You're right," Breda said, even though General Grumman probably wouldn't mind, whoever had replaced Mustang probably would have had something to say about it. Like forbidding both Military men to go within a mile of Miss Kempt (which would be a good thing!) but, they'd never get rid of her.

There was then a knock on the door and Mary barged in. "Jean, your Uncle and Aunt are home. While I may not approve of your plans, they'll approve even less," Mary had a glance at what both of them had managed to come up with. "Those are rubbish! It would be better if I just whacked Miss Kempt over the head with a rolling pin!"

Two pairs of pleading eyes then surrounded Mary. "You actually want me to do it? I was only joking you know," Havoc and Breda started to talk about how much better it was than all their ideas and how Mary was the only one who could pull it off. Mary sighed, before saying, "Fine I'll do it. But don't think I'm guarantying a good result,".

"Thank you Mary!"

* * *

And that was how Mary had found herself outside the home of Miss Kempt, armed with a simple rolling pin. "How is this ever going to work? I'm not a practical joker, I have no idea quite how this is supposed to play out," Mary shook her head. "Note; never ever go along with one of Jean's schemes again!"

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry for how absolutely rubbish this chapter is. I'll leave it to your imaginations quite what happened to Miss Kempt, but lets just say she probably won't turn up again. Thank you to Bar-Ohki for trying to give me ideas. The next update will be much much later than usual, due to me being on Guide Camp for a week, and then going to Spain for four days. If I can squeeze an update in I'll try, but don't count on it. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story so far.**


	11. The End

Can what was be again?

Chapter 11: The End

Disclaimer: Full metal Alchemist belongs to Hiromu Arakawa, not me.

* * *

It had been around six months since the death of Maes Hughes and the dissapearance of Eliza. But, everyone had stopped looking for the young girl a long time ago. Maybe it was because Miss Kempt had never paid a visit to Military headquarters since Mary had paid her a visit, but mainly because the Military was so busy with other things.

Ever since Edward Elric, the Full Metal Alchemist had paid a visit to Liore, there had been talk of rebellion their, and the Military had had to be sent in. This included a lot of East's forces. Also, their was some talk of corruption in the higher ups of the Military, and it was no secret at east that there was someone who might do something about it. While no one spoke of who that person might be, they all knew who it was. Roy Mustang.

Their doubts grew, however, when they heard he had been sent out somewhere to deal with a rebellion. General Grumman in his office though, never doubted Roy for a minute, knowing that the newly promoted Brigadeer General had likely thought up a scheme.

And it was true, Roy Mustang had thought out exactly what he had to do. True, on some parts it would be embarassing (both for him and his subordinates) and probably ruin his career if he failed (scratch that, it would ruin his career, and the rest of his subordinates. That was, if they didn't end up dead first). All he needed was the trust and aid of his first Lieutenant to help carry it out.

And he had achieved that. So know he was in a car, racing towards the Fuhrers mansion, for the final confrontation with Pride. Roy nervously pulled at his gloves, checking for the sixth time that they were securely on.

"Sir, stop fiddling with your gloves. The more you fiddle with them the more likely you are to lsoe them," Riza's voice said from the front of the car, a lttle less sharp than usual.

"Yes Riza," Roy chanced using her first name for once. There was no reaction what so ever from Riza, who just continued to drive.

"Colonel, are you sure about this?" Riza asked.

"Riza, do you think I would have gone this far with the plan if I wans't alrady sure?"

"No. But Roy," Riza said calmly. "But please, don't do anything rash," Though Riza knew it was a bit late to be saying that.

* * *

Down in the underground city, there were different things taking place. Edward was looking angrily at Dante, as she explained her plans to him. Rose looked on, holding her small child in her arms. From round the one corner of the old building, Eliza looked on, scared by what Dante was saying. She recognised Edward as well, and wondered what he was doing there. 

"So Edward, what are you going to do now?" Dante smirked, knowing she had Ed trapped. "If you don't stop defending your brother, I will kill you. If you do, I'll just use your brother and kill him. And if you try anything funny," Dante gave one of her evil smiles, "Come out Eliza. Edward, if you try and do anything funny, I'll kill her!"

Edward looked at the younger girl, recognising her as the one he had brought of the street. "I'll never give into you Dante!"

* * *

Rose looked around at the mess and destruction all around her. It terrified her, especially as she couldn't remember why she was there in the first place. Blood littered the floor, covering two bodies. Rose was afraid to check if they were alive or not. 

A wail was let out from the baby Rose held. She realised she would have to get out of there and do something. But how? There were no obvious exits, and even if she had been able to get out of the building, she wouldn't have known where she was anyway.

"Brother?" Rose turned around, to see that one of the bodies had stirred. Deep golden brown eyes opened, staring at their surroundings. "Brother, where are you?"

Rose didn't know what to do. Who was this strange boy? His voice seemed vaguely familiar, but Rose didn't know why. She just decided that she would sit down and leave the boy to his moanings, and wait for help. After all what else could she do?

* * *

About a week later, the sun shone above the Rockbell house in Resembool. Out on the grass, Alphonse Elric, once again in his human body, played with Den, as the slightly older blong girl with the black eyes looked on, smiling happily. A little way off, Winry, Rose and Pinako watched the two children play. 

"Why did the girl come back with us?" Pinako asked.

Winry looked down at the blond girl. "Miss Riza asked me to look after her," She remembered her earlier conversation with the Lieutenant after she had been called down to Central because of Al.

"_I'm sorry I have to ask you this Winry, but can you possibly take care of Eliza as well. She's got no one to look after her," Riza had said._

"_I can, but why? Can't you or Mr Mustang take care of her?"._

"_Colonel Mustang is currently not in a fit state to look after the child, and I have my hands full with looking after him. And I don't trust anyone else to be able to properly look after Eliza,"._

"I'm not quite sure why she wanted me to look after Eliza, but Eliza looks happy here and I suppose that's all that counts,"

* * *

**A/N: So, yes this is the end. There's not much more I can do with this story. caribbeanQueen, thanks for making me get off my lazy butt and actually updating. A big thanks to everyone who's supported me through this story, it means a lot to me. Alos, if anyone has any ideas on how to make my next story even better, please say so!**


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